The Standard Oratorios: Their Stories, Their Music, And Their Composers

A concise handbook that traces the origin and development of the oratorio, explains its musical structure and modes of performance, and outlines its historical evolution. It presents readable sketches of the sacred narratives set to music, summarizes principal numbers, and supplies brief biographies and historical context for leading composers. The survey treats canonical works by figures such as Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Berlioz, Brahms, Verdi, and others, and also discusses large-scale sacred compositions often performed by oratorio societies though not strictly oratorios. Written for general readers, the volume emphasizes description over criticism and concludes with material on sacred music in America and an appendix.